Science Friday: 2014 Science Year in Review

What stories grabbed your attention this year? Was it the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa or the European Space Agency’s successful landing on a comet? Ira Flatow and a panel of science editors and writers discuss the biggest stories in science and technology of 2014.

Did you know that the badminton birdie many Americans hit around their backyards can fly faster than 200 mph in a professional game? Video producer and long-time badminton player Emily Driscoll reveals how the birdie's speed results from its aerodynamic shape and a complex chain of movements executed by professional players.

There is marine limestone at the top of Mount Everest. But how did it get there? That story, and the story of the creation of the state of California, both come back to the work of plate tectonics. In this archival interview from 1993, science writer John McPhee and geologist Eldridge Moores talk about the book Assembling California, and the study of rocks, minerals, and continental plates.

You may know science, but how well do you know movie science? In this live recording from Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium, Ira talks to physicist Sean Carroll about working as a science consultant on set. Then he challenges scientists from Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Lab to battle it out in a quiz of movie science trivia. Think you can beat our expert contestants?